The city of Chicago was engulfed with a city-wide strike that left approximately 350,000 children without going to classes. It was the first strike in Chicago in 25 years and saw teachers walking through the downtown parts of the city while wearing red.
Situations that led to the strike
In September 2012, the strike was initiated by the Chicago Teachers Union after its president indicated that the negotiations with the city were not productive. The situation that led to the strike was the unproductive negotiations between the teachers and the city over the number of hours in a school day (Pearson, 2012). The other issue was making sure that their evaluation is linked to their performance. There was also the worry that there could be job losses. The number of school hours was expected to change in terms of adding 75 minutes in elementary schools to create a total number of seven hours per day. High schools were expected to add thirty minutes to ensure that they have seven hours and thirty minutes per day. Teachers were demanding money for the extra hours. The teachers were also objecting for their evaluation to be linked to the performance because other factors affect the performance of students and thus will be unfair to punish teachers for the students’ non-performance.
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Methods that Could be Used to Prevent the Strike
One of the methods that could have been used to prevent the teachers strike is to include the representative in the initial decision-making process. However, this may not have been used because there would have been a hindrance in the implementation of the changes in schools, especially changes that relate to their performance (Liebelson, 2012).
Negotiation Tactics Used
There are various negotiation tactics that were used by both parties, The teachers used timing to their advantage. In this case, they waited for the city to state the changes in the number of hours per school day and the performance measurement tactics. They then took advantage to state the requirements of the teachers in terms of increasing their salary. On the other hand, the negotiation tactic that was used by the government, which ended the strike was listening more than they talk. The government opted to listen to the views of the teachers and came up with a win-win proposal.
The effectiveness of the Tactics Used
The tactic that was used by the teachers was not effective because they could not get into an agreement with the city. The union had to call for a teachers strike which encouraged the government to listen to them. However, the tactic that was used by the government after the strike of listening to the demands of the teachers and coming up with a proposal that took into consideration the plea of the teachers was effective (PON STAFF, 2018). The effectiveness was seen from the fact that the strike ended after the negotiations.
Alternative Actions in the Negotiations
If I was in the position of the city officials, what I would have done differently is engaging the representative of teachers before making any changes in the manner in which schools are being run. Engaging the stakeholder groups ensures that those who are affected or who are expected to implement the changes, in this case, the teachers, are able to own and accept the changes.
In conclusion, the teacher's strike of Chicago was the biggest to be seen in 25 years and would have been avoided if the teachers’ union had been involved in the initial decision-making process. Their input would have been included in the decisions by the city to avoid any conflict.
Bibliography
Liebelson, D. (2012, 09 11). What happened with the Chicago teacher strike, explained . Retrieved from Mother Jones: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/teachers-strike-chicago-explained
Pearson, M. (2012, 11 19). Wins, losses, and draws in Chicago school strike . Retrieved from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/19/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/
PON STAFF. (2018, 06 28). Union Strikes and Dispute Resolution Strategies . Retrieved from The President and Fellows of Harvard College: https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/dispute-resolution/dispute-resolution-and-the-chicago-teachers-union-strike/
